dedicated to eva

Dedicated to Eva. Watch yourself, girl.

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Invasion of the Brood“This world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm

and multiply in a drop of water.” - H. G. Wells

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ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Victory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Unit Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Game Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Sequence of Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Brood Player Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Gather Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Spend Mindpower Phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Destroy Orion: Cost O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Dupe: Cost O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Spawn Larva: Cost 1 (requires Adult) . . . . . . 1OMolt to Adult: Cost 1 (requires Larva) . . . . . 1OSpawn Worker: Cost 1 (requires Broodmaster) 1OMolt to Warrior: Cost 1 (requires factory) . . 1OControl Factory: Cost 1 (requires Worker) . . 1OMind Control: Cost 1 (requires Control marker) 1OMove: Cost 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Berserk: Cost 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Human Player Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Awaken: Phase 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Project Orion: Phase 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Move: Phase 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Battle: Phase 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Build: Phase 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Water Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Naval Intercept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Battle & Berserk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16How to Resolve a Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Air Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Air Strikes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Air Interception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Brood Berserkergang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Project Orion in Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Build Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Dormant and Neutral Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Dormant Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Neutral nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21The Broodmaster & National Status . . . . . . . 21The Brood and its Ways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Broodmasters & Broodlings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Mind Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Factories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Handicapping Invasion of the Brood . . . . . . . 23Example of Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Turn One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Turn Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Turn Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Turn Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3OTurn Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

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Introduction Victory

Summary

All Broodmasters lust for conquest−−their greed is unmatched in the galaxy. But for the Broodmaster Magnalux, it was not just lust, it was necessity. Magnalux had rebelled against its superior, Broodmaster Thunderchild, and Magnalux lost the fight. Fleeing for its life, Magnalux escaped in a ship. But for the Brood, true safety is found in absolute rulership and control.

After traveling thousands of parsecs, Magnalux’s ship dropped out of hyperspace near Earth. It landed on the far side of Luna, where its ship could not be spotted from Earth. Magnalux had few resources−−only those it could scrape from the moon’s surface-but its technology was far superior to humankind. Conquest should not be difficult, particularly if Magnalux takes advantage of the complex Brood life cycle…and the equally complex human political situation.

The Humans win by launching the Orion Rocket. They do this during the Project Orion phase by having six Project Orion units on their player sheet, which they accumulate by launching pieces of the project from Antarctica.

The Brood wins by having a Worker control at least one factory inside each of the six major nations at the same time. It wins immediately when this happens.

Sandy’s Tip:

Project Orion is a super-rocket that is launched by firing off hundreds of atomic bombs. If it is launched anywhere but Antarctica, the devas-tation, fallout, and poisoning of the atmosphere would be so great that humanity would probably go extinct anyway. So, Antarctica it is.

Invasion of the Brood is a two-player board game about the conquest of planet Earth in the first half of the 21st century. The Humans must first unite against the threat, then hold off Magnalux’s minions long enough to build a rocket to attack Magnalux’s moon base and kill it, ending the threat. If they fail, all of humanity will fall under Magnalux’s thrall.

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(6) LarvaBroodmaster

(6) WarriorBroodmaster

(8) WorkerBroodmaster

Mindpower Token

(12) MindControl Tokens

(7) DormantTokens

(1O) NeutralTokens

(9) ProjectOrion Tokens

(4) Block Tokens

(6) Adult Broodmaster

(6) Diplomacy CardsComponents

(12) DupeTokens

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Game Board

Human & Brood Turn Cards (6) Diplomacy Cards

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ARMY, AIR UNIT & FLEET TOKENS

USA

China

Neutral

Europe

Japan

Russia

India

Components

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DefinitionsACTION: One of several possible exploits the Brood player can perform during its turn. Most cost Mindpower.

ATTACK: The strength of a unit while attacking.

BROOD: The player and forces representing Magnalux.

BROODLING: A small alien drone spawned by a Broodmaster.

BROODMASTER: A telepathic alien monster, core to the Brood’s strategy.

CONTROL OR CONTROLLED: A Human unit or factory which has been taken over by the Brood’s mental telepathy.

DEFENSE: The strength of a unit in defense.

DUPES: Special Brood tokens that can be exchanged for additional Mindpower. They represent Humans who are fooled by Brood propaganda into cooperating with the Brood.

FREE: A Human unit or factory which is not under Brood influence.

GENDER: For ease in understanding the rules, we feign that the Brood player is a neutral “it,” and the Human player a plural, so most references to “it” are the Brood, and “they” represent the Humans.

HUMAN: The player and forces representing Earth’s native population.

LAND: Any area which is composed of, well, land, as opposed to a water area. Land makes up the majority of the map. Land areas are typically gray or green.

MILITARY: Human Armies, Air units, and Fleets.

MINDPOWER: The mental strength which the Brood uses to perform all of its actions.

ORION: A section of the Project Orion rocket.

WATER: Any area which is distinguished by being named “Ocean” or “Sea,” as in “North Atlantic Ocean” or “Caribbean Sea.” These are bluish to help identification.

UNIT: A military formation, Project Orion segment, or an alien which participates in the war.

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Units

NATION (HUMAN ONLY): The flag of the major nation which builds that unit from its factories. Minor factories build gray-flagged minor units.

UNIT TYPE: The unit’s name.

SILHOUETTE: Helps for instant identification.

ATTACK: The unit’s chance to score a hit on an enemy when it rolls 1d6.

DEFENSE: The unit’s chance to avoid destruction when hit against a 1d6.

MOVE: How many areas the unit can move.

UNIT LIMITS

There is a printed limit on the number of units available. You cannot create more units than the counter pool allows. For example, once Japan has both Fleet units in play, the Humans cannot use Japan’s factory to create another Fleet. Once the Brood has 6 Larva in play, it cannot spawn new Larva. And so forth.

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2

22

3

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4

44

5

55

6

66

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Game SetupThe players choose sides.

The Humans must choose one of the 6 major nations to portray: United States, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, or India. They can do this randomly by drawing a Diplomacy card, but it does not violate the spirit of the game to just pick a favorite. Place all other Diplomacy cards back in the box−−they won’t be needed in this game. The Humans then take their Turn cards and place it by their Diplomacy card, along with three Block tokens and the Project Orion counters.

Sort all Human units by country−−they are distinguished by national flags. Minor nations have a gray “Neutral” flag.

• If the Humans are the United States,

• Armies are placed in one of the nation’s land areas.

• Fleets are placed in a water area adjacent to the nation’s land area(s).

• Air units are placed in the Available bank on the player sheet.

• Place one Neutral token in each minor nation (i.e., each area outside a major nation which contains a factory). The Antarctic areas do not have Neutral tokens and do not contain a nation.

The Brood player takes the Broodmaster’s player sheet and Mindpower token, and sorts its units on the tabletop. The Brood player then places its Mind Control tokens on the tabletop as well. It starts with zero units on the map and zero tokens in either its Available or Expended banks. The Brood player always takes the first turn.

place 1 Dormant marker in each major nation’s territory, including the United States. Place no military units.

• If the Humans are any other nation, place 2 Dormant markers in the United States and 1 Dormant marker in each other major nation’s territory except your own, which has none. Place the starting military of your nation (as described on your Diplomacy card).

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Sequence of Play Brood Player TurnThe game is played in a series of alternating turns. First the Brood takes its turn, then the Humans take theirs. Each game turn is composed of several phases. These phases differ from Brood to Human.

BROOD PLAYER TURN

GATHER PHASE: The Brood gets free stuff.

SPEND MINDPOWER: The Brood spends Mindpower for actions.

HUMANS PLAYER TURN

AWAKEN: The Humans seek to alert the great nations to their peril.

PROJECT ORION: The Humans launch, move, and build Orion units.

MOVE: The Humans move any or all of their units, except Orions.

ATTACK: The Humans attack.

BUILD: The Humans place new military units at free factories.

GATHER PHASE

1. Tell the Human player to move all of their Air units from their Expended bank to their Available bank.

2. Place your Mindpower marker on the 3 slot−−this represents Magnalux itself. If Mindpower remains from a previous turn, discard it first. You cannot “save” Mindpower from turn to turn.

3. Increase your Mindpower marker by 1 for each Adult Broodmaster on the map.

4. Place one new Mind Control marker on any Human military unit (not Orion). If you select an Air unit, also spend 1 Mindpower, then take and place the Air unit in your Available bank.

5. Place 1 free Larva unit in any land area that (a) has a factory and (b) does not contain a Broodmaster yet. The Larva plunges to Earth from Magnalux’s moon base, and need not be adjacent to an existing Broodmaster.

Sandy’s Tip:

Air units are more tightly regulated and watched than other military, so they are harder to seize with Mind Control out of the blue. If you’re the Brood, it’s still often worth doing.

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Example:

Example:

It is the start of the Brood turn. Two Adult Broodmasters are in play. The Broodmaster moves its Mindpower marker to 5 on its sheet−−3 for Magnalux, plus 2 more for its two Adults. It also has two Larva Broodmasters in play, but they do not add to its Mindpower. The Brood player then places a Mind Control marker on a European Army, then places its free Larva. The Larva goes into Central Asia, where no Broodmaster exists yet.

A Project Orion unit is in China along with a Human Army. The Brood uses the Mind Control action to seize control of the Army. He can now destroy the Project Orion for free, because only a Brood-controlled unit is present.

Sandy’s Tip:

Sandy’s Tip:

Since the Brood gains 1 Mind Control marker each turn, these accumulate over time.

If you save up your Dupe markers over time, you can use them to pull off a super-turn late in the game, sometimes enough to win right away.

SPEND MINDPOWER PHASE

The Brood now spends its Mindpower on actions as it chooses. It can take its actions in any order, and it can repeat an action, even activating the same unit multiple times during its turn. The following list shows the Brood’s available actions with their associated costs in parentheses.

DESTROY ORION (O)DUPE (O)SPAWN LARVA (1)MOLT TO ADULT (1)SPAWN WORKER (1)

MOLT TO WARRIOR (1)CONTROL FACTORY (1)CONTROL HUMAN (1)MOVE (1)BERSERK (1)

Destroy Orion: Cost O

If a Project Orion unit is in an area with at least one Brood unit and zero Human military units, the Brood can destroy it at no cost. A Project Orion unit can also be destroyed after a Berserk action if no Human military remains−−this happens just before the Berserk Brood unit is eliminated.

Dupe: Cost O

Discard a Dupe marker from your Available bank (placing it back on the tabletop, off to one side), then add 1 to your current Mindpower.

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Spawn Larva: Cost 1(Requires Adult)

Place a new Larva Broodmaster in a land area adjacent to an Adult Broodmaster.

Molt to Adult: Cost 1(Requires Larva)

Select a Larva Broodmaster and replace it with an Adult Broodmaster. This does not immediately add to your Mindpower (you must wait until your next Gather Resources phase).

Spawn Worker: Cost 1(Requires Broodmaster)

Place a new Worker in an area containing a Broodmaster (Larva or Adult).

Molt to Warrior:Cost 1 (Requires Controlled Factory)

If you have a Worker Broodling in any area, remove it and replace it with a Warrior. If the Broodling was controlling a factory, it must abandon that factory. Thus, it costs 2 Mindpower total to create a Warrior−−one to create the Worker, then another to molt to a Warrior.

Sandy’s Tip:

Except in an emergency, always use an “unemployed” Worker to create a Warrior. Otherwise, you wasted the Mindpower spent putting that Worker in charge of a factory.

Control Factory: Cost 1 (requires Worker)

If you have a Worker in an area with an uncontrolled factory, move the worker to the Control box, seizing the factory. A factory can only be controlled by a single Worker at a time. Only Worker Broodlings can control factories−−no other units can do this. It costs you 2 Mindpower to seize a factory−−one to create the Worker, and one to seize control.

Mind Control: Cost 1(Requires Control Token)

Take a Control token from your Available bank or from a controlled Human unit and move it to a Human Army or Fleet on the map, .or to an Air unit on the Human’s turn card. If you seize an Air unit, move it from the Human sheet to your own Available bank (even if it was in the Human’s Expended bank). If you remove a Control token from your Air unit, return that Air unit to the Humans’ Expended bank.

Control tokens are never lost−−if a controlled unit is destroyed, move its Control token to the Brood’s Available bank.

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MOVE: COST 1

Choose a Broodling or controlled Human unit and move it. See the Move rules for details (p. 14). You cannot move a Broodmaster, even by water transport.

AWAKEN: PHASE 1

Choose one of three possible actions: Mediation, War, or Neutrality.

Unless you choose Neutrality, you must check your own nation’s Diplomacy with the chosen nation−−this ranges from 1-3. The United States is a special case; the first time you awaken it, Diplomacy is O. If you are actually playing as the United States, its Diplomacy is still O.

Option One: Mediation

This is usually how you’ll awaken a nation. Choose a desired major nation. Remove one of its Dormant tokens. If all of its Dormant tokens are now gone (this will always be true for every nation except the USA), place that nation’s starting military as follows:

The Humans get to use all of their available units in each phase−−they have no Mindpower restrictions. However, they must follow their turn phases in strict order. The Humans’ ability to balance and plan ahead will make or break their resistance to the Brood. Depending on what happens during the Humans’ Awaken phase, they may not get all of their other phases in a given turn.

IMPORTANT: Awaken minor nations by moving Armies into their territories. These are not alerted during the Awaken phase.

BERSERK: COST 1

Choose a unit to go berserk. Unless the berserk unit is itself an Air unit, you can use air support to help out. This always kills the berserk unit, so use it wisely. See the Battle & Berserk rules for details (p. 16).

Sandy’s Tip:

It’s expensive to take over an Air unit with your free Control during the Gather phase, but not during the rest of the turn. If you want an Air unit, an easy way to get it is to send a controlled Fleet or Army berserk. After it dies, you have an available Control token left over to seize an Air unit, plus presumably you benefited from the attack.

Sandy’s Tip:

The Brood never builds Human units.

Human Player Turn

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• Place its Armies in any of that nation’s land areas.

• Place its Fleets in water areas adjacent to the nation’s land.

• Place its Air units in your Available bank.

Four phases remain in the turn: Project Orion, Move, Attack, and Build. On your turn card, you must place Block tokens on a number of phases equal to the chosen nation’s Diplomacy. Thus, your turn is abbreviated, representing the effort needed to educate the major nation to its peril. Nations with poor relationships are tougher to convince.

Example:

The Humans, playing as China, decide to mediate and awaken India. Diplomacy between China and India is 3, so the Humans must block off three of their remaining phases.

Option Two: War

You can also awaken a major nation by declaring war on it. This actually plunges it into civil unrest, because, of course, some of the citizens are aware of the Brood threat and side with your forces.

When you declare war, immediately place that nation’s starting military as if it was mediated. Then add Dupe tokens to the Brood’s Available bank equal to that nation’s Diplomacy.

Example:

The Humans, playing as Europe, declare war on Russia. Since Europe’s Diplomacy with Russia is 3, the Brood immediately gains 3 Dupe counters. What a windfall!

Option Three: Neutrality

You can choose not to awaken a major nation but may instead choose neutrality. However, if all major nations are awakened, you are required to choose neutrality in any case. If you pick neutrality, the Brood adds 1 Dupe token to its Available bank.

Sandy’s Tip:

Mediation is almost always better in the early game. The advantage of war is that it lets you enter recalcitrant countries in the late game to take out Brood there without losing phases. Beware of Dupe tokens, though−−over time, a savvy Brood player can accumulate these for a swift victory.

PROJECT ORION: PHASE 2

This phase has three segments:

Launch Project Orion: Segment 1

Any Orion counters in either Antarctica area can be launched into space. Place these counters on your Turn card in the

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Project Orion bank. If, at the end of this segment, you have six Orions on your Turn card, you win the game. Proclaim victory.

Move Project Orion: Segment 2

Next, the Humans can move all remaining Orion units. They can either move to an adjacent land area, or they can use water transport (see Movement section, p. 14). You goal is, of course, to get them to Antarctica.

Build Project Orion: Segment 3

Lastly, Humans can build new Orion units. You cannot build an Orion at a factory that already has an Orion present. Place one Orion unit on any other free factory.

Remember that in the Build phase, the Humans can’t build units in an area with an Orion, so plan ahead.

Sandy’s Tip:

Project Orion is a gigantic machine containing literally thousands of atomic bombs. The labor to keep it safe, shielded, and workable is so intense that no other work can go on in its area.

MOVE: PHASE 3

The Humans can move all of their units (except Orions) in this phase. They can move them in any order. You cannot move a Fleet once it has been used for water

transport, but you can move it before you do so. Each unit can only move once.

BATTLE: PHASE 4

First, the Brood moves all of its controlled Air units from the Expended bank to the Available bank. Second, the Humans can declare battle with any or all military units.

Sandy’s Tip:

Combat in Invasion of the Brood is safe for the attacker, so there is no reason not to fight everywhere you can. Humans are a warlike species.

BUILD: PHASE 5

Each free factory that does not have an Orion in its area can now produce 1 Army, 1 Air unit, or 1 Fleet. An Army is placed in the factory’s area. A Fleet is placed in an adjacent water area. An Air unit is placed in your Available bank.

The Humans must build the correct nationality per factory. Thus, only a Russian factory can produce Russian units. Minor nation factories produce minor nation units.

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MovementUnits fall into one of five different movement categories in Invasion of the Brood. A unit’s movement allowance is printed on its counter.

BROODMASTERS: Larva and Adult Broodmasters cannot move. They remain where they are spawned.

Sandy’s Tip:

Remember−−only one Broodmaster per area.

FLEETS: Human Fleets can only exist in water areas. Their movement of 2 is used to move from one water area to another−−

it can move up to two areas, though. Two canals are in the game: the Panama and the Suez. These are simulated by the fact that the Caribbean Sea extends past the Central American isthmus and into the North Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean extends into the Mediterranean, making them adjacent. A Fleet can move “through” an unfriendly Fleet without stopping.

AIR UNITS: Air units stay on your Turn card, in your banks. They can strike from the Available bank to any area on the map, afterward returning to the Expended bank.

LAND UNITS: Land units are Armies and Broodlings. These have a printed movement allowance of 1. A land unit can move to an adjacent land area, or it can use water transport (not both).

ORION: These move exactly as land units, but only during the second segment of the Project Orion phase.

WATER TRANSPORT

Water transport is used to move Orion or land units from one area to another. The land unit being transported can move across an adjacent water area that holds a friendly Fleet. From there, it can move to another adjacent water area with a friendly Fleet, and so forth, until the land unit ends its turn in a land area adjacent to the last water area crossed. This ends the land unit’s move. The land unit cannot move both on land and use water transport in the same action or turn.

A Human player can move a Fleet before, but not after, using it for water transport, thus setting up a pipeline to get their land units to a desired location. Remember, once a Fleet has been used for water transport, it cannot be moved again that Movement phase.

Project Orion units and land units cannot remain “at sea” after a water transport. They must end their move on a land area.

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NAVAL INTERCEPT

There is a sub-type of battle used only during water transport. When a unit is moved by water transport, if it traverses an area containing an enemy Fleet, that enemy Fleet can try to “intercept” the unit. The moving player must designate one of their Fleets in the area to be the transporting Fleet, and then that Fleet fights the intercepting Fleet. Both Fleets roll their attack, then a Fleet that is hit can try to survive via its defense roll. See the battle rules for details on how this works (p. 16).

If the transporting Fleet is sunk, the moving unit is returned to its start area. If the Fleet survives, the unit arrives at its destination. The player can try to transport the unit again with another Fleet but this can be intercepted as well, if the enemy Fleet survived the first encounter (or a second enemy Fleet is present).

Only one intercepting Fleet can try to block one transporting Fleet per unit transported. Even if you have two or more Fleets which could intercept, you can only use one.

Air support cannot be used during an intercept fight.

FIGURE 1 - NAVAL INTERCEPT

Ships can also fight other ships by entering battle or going berserk. The Naval Intercept simply adds an-other means for ships to interact.

Sandy’s Tip:

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Example: Naval Intercept

The Human player is trying to move their Orion from South America East to Antarctica. They say they are sailing it via the Indian Fleet in the South Atlantic. The Brood intercepts with its controlled US Fleet. Both players attempt an attack roll. The Indian attack misses. The Brood Fleet scores a hit, so the Indian Fleet must roll for its defense, but fails, so it sinks−−the Orion remains in South America East.

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FIGURE 1 - NAVAL INTERCEPT


Example: Naval Intercept

The Human then tries to move their Orion again, now using the Fleet of a minor nation. The Brood again attempts to intercept. The Minor Fleet scores a hit! Unfortunately, so does the Brood Fleet. This time, however, the Minor Fleet successfully rolls its defense so it isn’t sunk, which means the Orion arrives in Antarctica. The Brood Fleet successfully defends as well, so it isn’t sunk, but its survival is at this point irrelevant to whether the transport would succeed, since the Minor Fleet survived.

Battle & BerserkHumans battle, while a Brood unit goes into berserker mode.

To go berserk, the Brood activates a single unit, and then that unit can attack all other units in its area. Air units can provide support for a non-Air unit. If the Brood sends a berserking Air unit, it moves that Air unit from its Available bank to an area, and it attacks all units in that area only. In this case it cannot benefit from air support.

The Humans, conversely, in their Battle phase may attack with every Human-controlled unit on the map, but each unit can only attack once. During the Battle phase, go through each area one by one, completing all of that area’s battle rolls before proceeding to the next area. Armies and Fleets must be present in an area to attack an enemy unit there. Air units can be moved to a target area from your Available bank. After providing air support or launching an air strike, the Air unit returns to the Expended bank and can’t be used again that phase.

HOW TO RESOLVE A BATTLE

The attacker chooses their attacking unit and the enemy chooses one of their units in the same area to defend. If the Brood player is attacking, it can attack Human units in any order.

If the Human player is the attacker, they must attack Brood units in this priority:

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1. CONTROLLED HUMAN UNITS

2. WARRIOR

3. UNEMPLOYED WORKER

4. WORKER ON FACTORY

5. BROODMASTER

This means if a controlled Human unit is present, the Human must attack it first. If it is killed, and no other controlled Human units remain, the Human’s next attack targets the next Brood unit in order of priority.

Once the target is determined, roll 1 die and compare the result to the attacking unit’s attack score. If the die roll is equal to or less than the unit’s attack value, it scores a hit. In this case, the defending unit rolls 1 die and compares the result to its defense. It is killed if it rolls higher than its defense value. A roll equal to or less than the unit’s defense means it survives and shrugs off the hit.

AIR SUPPORT

As part of another unit’s attack, you can fly in one or more Air units from your Available bank and add each Air unit’s attack to the main unit’s attack. If your final total is 6 or more, there is no need to roll an attack die−−your unit automatically hits. In addition, if the total is higher than 6, lower your target’s defense by an amount equal to the excess. If a unit’s defense is reduced to O or lower, then it does not get a defense roll.

Example:

Example:

An American Army unit, supported by an American Air unit, is attacking a Brood-controlled unit. The Army has an attack of 3, and the Air unit a 4, so the Human total is 7, exceeding 6 by 1. Not only does the Army automatically score a hit, but the Brood unit subtracts 1 from its defense before rolling to see if it survives.

An American Army (attack 3) is battling a Brood Warrior (defense 4). The American flies in an American Air unit (+4) and a Chinese Air unit (+2) to support the attack, giving them a total attack of 9. Since this is 3 points higher than 6, it’s an automatic hit, plus the Broodling’s defense is reduced by 3 to only 1. The Brood player sullenly rolls his defense die, praying for a “1.”

After an air support mission, return the Air units involved to your Expended bank−−they can’t fly again this turn.

An Air unit cannot support another Air unit, even in an air strike.

Each Air unit can be used only once per attack action or phase, either for support or strikes. Exception: A Brood berserk air strike.

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AIR STRIKES

An Air unit can attack on its own. In this case, ignore the “+” on its attack number. Just roll its attack as any other unit. Return the Human Air unit that performs a strike to the Expended bank. A Brood-controlled Air unit that goes berserk is destroyed, of course.

An air strike can’t reach into an enemy Available or Expended bank.

AIR INTERCEPTION

When an Air unit is sent on a support or strike, the other player can first try to intercept it with one of their available Air units. The intercepting player picks their unit, and then the two rival Air units each make an attack roll. Success indicates that the other Air unit is destroyed (Air units have defense O). If the intercepting unit survives, return it in the Expended bank. If the supporting or striking unit is shot down, its mission is canceled. However, the owner can replace it with another available Air unit. Of course, the enemy can try to intercept that one, too, if they still have available Air units.

Only one interception attempt is allowed for each individual Air unit performing a strike or a support. If the interception fails, the strike or support goes through.

BROOD BERSERKERGANG

A berserk Brood unit gets to attack all Human-controlled units in the area, one at a time. Though Brood can use air support

for any or all of these attacks, each controlled Air unit can only be used to support a single attack.

After the berserking ends, the chosen Brood-controlled unit automatically dies. It can first destroy any Orion units in the area, if all Human units in the area were successfully eliminated. Even a Brood Air unit can be used to destroy Orion units in this way.

If a Brood-controlled Air unit goes berserk, it can be intercepted.

PROJECT ORION IN BATTLE

An Orion unit cannot be attacked in battle. It can only be destroyed in the aftermath of a Berserk action or when the Brood performs a Destroy Orion action, and only if no Human-controlled units are present.

Sandy’s Tip:

In effect, the Brood needs a con-trolled unit in an area to destroy an Orion. Unfortunately for humanity, this isn’t hard to accomplish.

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FIGURE 2 - BATTLE




Example: Battle

Example: Battle

Example: Battle

Cecil, playing the Humans, starts his Battle phase. In Northern Russia, he has 1 US Army and 1 Minor Army, and he plans to fly in 2 US Air units for support. The Brood here has an Adult Broodmaster, a Worker Broodling (controlling the factory), and a controlled Minor Army.

Cecil first attacks with his own Minor Army, supported by 1 US Air unit. First, the Brood flies in a controlled Russian Air unit to try to intercept. The Russian Air unit rolls a 5, and the US Air unit rolls a 6, so both miss.

The Russian Air unit returns to the Brood’s Expended bank, and the attack proceeds against the Brood’s controlled Human Army, as per the priority rules.

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Example: Battle

Cecil rolls a 3−−a hit (any roll of 5 or less would hit). The Brood’s Minor Army rolls a 6−−a failure−−so it’s destroyed, and the Brood returns the Control token to its Available bank.

Example: Battle

Now Cecil attacks with his other US Air unit, using it for an air strike, targeting the Brood Worker. Cecil rolls a 3−−a hit! The Brood rolls a defensive 2, also a success, so it survives. Cecil now declares that he is attacking with his US Army. The Brood’s Worker defends again. Cecil rolls a 2−−yet another hit. His dice are hot tonight. The defending Worker rolls a 4 so, unfortunately for the Brood, it is destroyed, and the factory is freed. Cecil returns both US Air units to his Expended Bank.

Build RulesWhen placing a new unit, you are limited by the number of tokens available. This means that the Brood can only ever have 6 Larva Broodmasters at a time, the Humans can only have 9 Orions, and so forth. If a Human nation runs out of a unit type, it can’t build that unit type until one of the existing units is killed and returns to the unit pool.

Example: Battle

Both European Air units are in play, both controlled by the Brood. During the Human Battle phase, a Brood-controlled European Air unit intercepts and is shot down for its pains. The token then goes to the unit pool. During the next Human Build phase, that European Air unit is now available for placement.

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Dormant & Neutral Nations

The United States starts with two Dormant tokens inside its borders. All other Human major nations start with one such token. All other land areas with a factory start with a Neutral token−−these represent minor nations.

DORMANT NATIONS

Areas belonging to a dormant nation cannot be entered by any Human-controlled unit, even if the Brood has a presence there.

Dormant major nations are activated during the Awaken phase by the Human player.

NEUTRAL NATIONS

Minor nations include all factory areas outside the major nations. During the Build phase, the Human cannot use a factory in a minor nation so long as it is neutral. The Human player can move, and even air strike, into a neutral minor nation. If it moves an Army into the nation, whether via land or water transport, remove the Neutral token. That factory is now available to the Human player, unless it’s controlled by a Worker Broodling.

Sandy’s Tip:

Moving an Army to the factory’s area represents making friends and providing protection to the people there. It’s not a “conquest.” Honest.

THE BROODMASTER & NATIONAL STATUS

The Broodmaster does not respect dormancy or neutrality in any regard. It can freely control a factory or a military unit in any area, and it can even move Brood-controlled Human military units into a dormant or neutral nation’s territory without awakening it. Controlling a factory with a Worker denies its use to the Human player.

Sandy’s Tip:

Normally the Broodmaster begins building its empire among people unaware of its presence. It’s like a hundred alien invasion films we’ve seen, from Invaders from Mars to I Married a Monster from Outer Space to The Brain Eaters.

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The Brood &Its Ways

The Brood is subdivided into two types of units, each of which comes in two varieties. The Broodmasters are the telepathic centers of the race. Magnalux himself is a centuries-old overgrown Broodmaster. The Broodlings are small drone spawn, nearly mindless, but obedient to the wishes of their lords.

BROODMASTERS & BROODLINGS

Broodmasters are highly territorial. This is why only a single Broodmaster can be in a single area. If the Human player ever spots two or more Broodmasters sharing an area, they can destroy all excess Broodmasters, choosing which ones are destroyed from that area.

Broodlings are useful because they do not need a Control token. They do the Brood’s will at all times. Both Larva and Adult Broodmasters can spawn new Workers in their area. Warrior Broodlings can only be created in an area with a Brood-controlled factory. Multiple Broodlings can share an area, unlike Broodmasters themselves.

MIND CONTROL

The Brood gets a free Control token each turn. The Brood can use the Mind Control action to move a Control token from the Bank to a Human unit, or from one Human unit to another (presumably more useful) unit.

If a controlled unit is killed, its Control token returns to the Brood’s Available bank. Control tokens are never placed in the Expended bank, only in Available, or atop controlled units.

Factories are printed on the map. Each land area, except in Antarctica, contains one factory. Factories inside a major nation belong to that nation. Factories in other areas belong to minor nations.

Never place Human units in the Control box printed inside the factory icon. This is reserved for Worker Broodlings only.

The Human player can only use factories in awakened or non-Neutral nations, and only if those factories are not controlled by a Worker Broodling.

The Broodmaster player can use factories that it has seized with a Worker. If the controlling Worker is killed or moves away, the factory is freed. The controlled Worker

Sandy’s Tip:

As the Broodmaster, you have two constraints on expansion. First, Mindpower limits the actions you can take. Second, your Control tokens limit how many Humans you can command. The Humans tend to fall into internecine war in the late game which provides Dupe tokens, enhancing your Mindpower

Factories

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Sandy’s Tip:

The Human player uses factories to produce units. They are critical for the Human race’s freedom. The Broodmaster uses them to create its terrifying Warriors, to deny their use to the Humans, and, if it seizes control over enough in the right places, to declare victory.

can be attacked without relinquishing control.

Factories cannot be built nor destroyed.

If one player is experienced and the other is new, you may wish to handicap the game so the game is better balanced and more exciting.

Veteran Broodmaster Player: Start the Human player with two Minor Air units in their Available bank.

Veteran Human Player: Start the Brood player with 2 Dupe tokens in its Available bank.

Handicapping Invasion of the

Brood

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TURN ONE

Brood: The Brood begins with 3 Mindpower. First, it places its free Mind Control token on the

Human’s Fleet. Next, it places its free Larva in the Western USA. Now it can spend its Mindpower, so it molts the Larva into an Adult, spawns a Worker, and seizes the area’s factory. That’s all 3 Mindpower used, so it’s done.

Human: The Humans decide to awaken India by mediation. They remove the Dormant token and

place the Indian military. Since India’s Diplomacy with Europe is 2, the Humans must block off two phases, and they choose Project Orion and Battle. The remaining phases proceed as follows:

Move: First move the Indian Fleet to the Mediterranean, then use water transport to move the

European Army to North Africa (removing the Neutral token). The Indian Army moves to East Africa, also liberating it.

Build: The Humans then build an Army in North Africa, an Army in Western Europe, a Fleet (from

Scandinavia) in the North Atlantic, an Indian Fleet in the Indian Ocean, and a Minor Fleet in the South Pacific, from East Africa.

Example of Play

Human Air Pool

Available Expended

FIGURE 3 - START OF THE GAME


It’s the first turn. The Human player chooses Europe for their home and places the three European military units.

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FIGURE 4. END OF TURN ONE.

Human Air Pool Brood Pool

Available AvailableExpended Expended


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TURN TWO

Brood: This turn, the Brood generates 4 Mindpower, thanks to its Adult. It places its new Mind

Control token on the European Air unit, stealing it away to their own Available bank−−this also costs 1 Mindpower. The free Larva is placed in Central Asia. With its remaining Mindpower, it molts the Asian Larva into an Adult, then spawns a Worker and controls the Russian factory. It’s 2/6 of the way to victory!

Human: The Humans mediate the United States, which only removes one Dormant token, so the United

States is still out of play. However, since Diplomacy with the USA is O the first time around, they don’t block off a phase.

Project Orion: The Humans build Project Orions in North Africa, East Africa, and India.

Move: The Humans declare they are using water transport to move the European Army in Africa

to Brazil, so the Brood Fleet in the North Atlantic strives to intercept−−it scores a hit, but the defending Fleet survives via its defense roll, so the Army arrives safely. The Brood Fleet is untouched by the European Fleet’s counterstrike. The Humans then move the Minor Army in North Africa to Patagonia (via North then South Atlantic). The Brood intercept is tested again. This time the Brood ship hits, and the defending European Fleet is sunk, having failed its defense roll. However, the defender also successfully hits and sinks the Brood ship,

returning its Control marker to the bank. The Minor Army stays in North Africa, so the Human player decides to march it into East Africa instead. The Human then moves their Fleet in the Mediterranean to the North Atlantic, and successfully moves the European Army in Europe to Patagonia. They end by using water transport to move the Indian army to Australia.

Battle: No battles are possible, to the Human’s regret.

Build: The Humans build Air units in both European factories, placing them in the Available bank. They

then build an Army in Brazil, another Fleet in the South Pacific (from Patagonia), and an Air unit from West Africa. North Africa, East Africa, and India cannot build anything, because Orions are present in those areas.

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FIGURE 5. END OF TURN TWO.

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TURN THREE

Brood: This turn the Brood has 5 Mindpower, since it now has two Adults. It again uses its free

Mind Control to seize another European Air unit, again losing 1 Mindpower as a result. It places the free Larva in India, which also lets it destroy the Orion there at no cost. For its 4 Mindpower, it spawns a new Larva in Scandinavia (from the Adult in Central Asia), then builds an Indian Worker and seizes a factory. It’s aiming at a cheap, early victory, now that it has factories in three major nations, plus a lurker in Scandinavia. With its remaining 1 Mindpower, it uses its spare Mind Control marker to take over the last European Air unit. It hopes that its powerful air force will help it survive the turn.

Human: The Humans finish awakening the United States. This is Diplomacy 1, so they must block

off one phase). They choose to lose the Battle phase, planning to swarm the Brood on their next turn. The USA starts with 2 Armies, 2 Fleets, and 2 Air units. They place the two Fleets in the North Pacific and Caribbean. Both American Armies are placed in North America West, which bodes ill for the Brood.

Project Orion: The Humans now move one Orion to the Mountains of Madness, and the other one

to McMurdo (via the Indian Ocean). Then humanity builds new Project Orions in North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Brazil, Patagonia, and Australia.

Move: They transport the European Armies in Brazil and Patagonia to India. The Humans

move the Minor Army in Brazil to Mexico, and the Indian Army in Australia moves to New Zealand. The US Armies stay where they are.

Build: The Humans build Armies in both European locations. They build an American Air unit from

Eastern North America. Mexico and New Zealand build Minor Air units, and Australia builds an Army. The other minor areas are all blocked by Orions or Brood factories.

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FIGURE 6 - END OF TURN THREE




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TURN FOUR

Brood: There are now 8 Orions on the map, and two are in position to launch. Ouch. The Brood once

more starts with 5 Mindpower. It places its new Control token on one of the European Armies in India then plants its free Larva in Japan. Figuring it needs defense, it first moves its controlled Army in India to North Africa, destroying the Orion there. It has 4 Mindpower left. It spends 2 Mindpower to build a Worker in North America, and then sends it berserk, attacking both US Army units, and it uses one of its controlled Air units for the first attack.

The Humans send one US Air unit to intercept the first air support, and it shoots down the Brood Air unit, and the US Air unit survives the counterstrike. The Humans move that US Air unit to the Expended bank. The Brood send in another Air unit for the second attack, and the Humans refrain from intercepting. The Brood auto-hits with its total of 6, and the US Army rolls a 5 in defense−−it’s destroyed. The Brood attacks again, with its last Air unit, and the US Army again fails to defend. Both US Armies were destroyed. At least the newly spawned Worker is now destroyed, too.

The Brood has 2 Mindpower left. It uses 1 to seize control of the Minor Army in West Africa, destroying the Orion there, since it now has a free Control token (since it lost an Air unit). It then moves the Minor Army to East Africa to destroy that Orion too.

Human: The Humans decide to declare war on Japan, so they get all four phases, but the Brood gets

two Dupe tokens. The Japanese Fleet is placed in the Arctic. It’s looking dangerous for the Humans−−the Brood now need just 7 Mindpower to win the next turn, as follows:

1. Two Mindpower to spawn a Worker and seize a factory in Europe.

2. Two Mindpower to do the same in Japan.

3. Three Mindpower to spawn a Larva in China, then turn it into a Worker, then seize a factory.

If the Brood still has both Adults next turn, it will have the 7 Mindpower it needs, thanks to the Dupe tokens! The Humans must either liberate a factory or kill some of the Broodmasters on the map.

Project Orion: First, the two Orions in Antarctica Launch. Next, the three on-map Orions are

transported: two go to McMurdo and one to the Mountains of Madness (the Humans spread the Orions over two areas to make them harder to knock out). They then spawn new Orions in Patagonia, Brazil, West Africa, and Australia. They’d like to spawn more, but that’s all 9.

Move: The Minor Fleet in the South Atlantic moves to the South Pacific, and they then move the

Indian Army in New Zealand to McMurdo. Then the Humans transport both European Armies to West USA. The Humans fret at the map and decide to move the Mexican Army

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to McMurdo, to force the Brood to spend 1 Mind Control to destroy the units there. They’d like more Armies in Antarctica, but are not sure where to take them from−−all of the other Armies seem needed where they are.

Battle: First, one Army in America attacks, supported by a US Air unit. A Brood European Air unit

intercepts, but is shot down, failing to kill the US unit. Its Control token becomes available. The Human player thinks for a second, then adds a Minor Air to its attack−−this triggers the other Brood Air unit to intercept, which then shoots down the Minor Air and survives the counterattack. The Brood Air unit is used up, however. The Humans then throw in another Minor Air instead, which reduces the Worker’s defense to O, killing it, but they end up using up two Air units (plus the one shot down). The remaining European Army now attacks the Adult Broodmaster, adding a US Air unit to its attack for a total of 7, which reduces the Broodmaster’s defense to 3. The Broodmaster fails its defense and is killed.

North America is cleansed at the expense of four Air units (one shot down!). The Japanese Army now attacks, using the Japanese Air unit and a Minor Air unit in support, for an attack of 6. The Brood Larva has a defense of only 1, but amazingly succeeds and survives. Muttering imprecations at the Japanese military, the Humans turn to India. The European Army there attacks with both remaining Human Air units helping out, for an attack of 6. The Brood has a defense of 2, and manages to roll a “2,” so it survives.

The Humans have shot their bolt, but at least they cleansed the USA.

Build: The Europeans build 2 Air units. The Americans build an Army in each area. Japan builds an Air

unit. The minor nations, combined, have only 2 Armies and 1 Air unit left in their unit pool, so they build them−−one Army in East Africa, the other in North Africa.

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FIGURE 7 - END OF TURN FOUR

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TURN FIVEThings look tough for both sides. The Brood is still on the verge of victory, but so are the Humans. THE NEXT COUPLE OF TURNS MAY DECIDE WHO RULES EARTH!

CREDITSDesign ................................. Sandy PetersenArt Director .....................Tony MastrangeliArt .....................................Alyssa McCarthyLayout ................................... Andrew FrischEditing .............................. Benjamin Kocher

PLAYTESTERSLincoln Petersen, Topi Pitkaanen, Luke Murthwaite, Ian Jacobs, Anthony Callison, Amit Arnon, and some crazy Finns!

dedicated to eva

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